Improvement in machines for splitting and shaving willow withes



J. PO'PPING. Machines for Splitting and Shaving Willow Withes.

N0. 222,305. Patented Dec. 2, 1879.

I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WITNESSES INVENTOR':

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PATENT Orrron.

JOSEPH POPPI-NG, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR SPLITTING AND SHAVING WILLOW WIT HES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 222.305, dated December2, 1879; application filed 1 November 30, 1878. i

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH POPPING, of thecity, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedMachine for Preparing Willow Withes, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a machine for preparing, splitting, andfinishing willow withes for use in making baskets, boxes, hoops forsmall kegs, and other purposes; the object whereof is to facilitate thesplitting, butting, and finishing of thesaidwithes to make them ofuniform thickness and width, and to enable them to be produced morerapidly and in better condition than is now done.

It consists, first, of grooved rotary feeders, one

fixed and the other adjustable, and an adjust able splittingk'nife, soarranged that the round twig is fed against said knife and split intothe desired number of parts from end to end evenly and without waste.

Secondly, it consists. of feeding-rolls and an adjustable planing-knife,arranged so that the split withe is fed against the planer and smoothedand trimmed to the desired thickness.

Thirdly, it consists of knives and guides arranged to trim thesides ofthe withes to give Lastly, it consists of details of construction and.arrangement hereinafter'specifically referred to and described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of myimprovement,-front view.

housings of the machine, in which are journaled the horizontal shafts BB, geared together by gear-wheels a. a, fixed to said shafts,respectively. V

Shaft B is in fixed bearings, and one end projects through the housing,and is fitted with aband-wheel, b, if power is to be used, or a crank,to be turned by hand, if preferred. The opposite end of shaft B likewiseprojects through the housing on that side, and is provided with acollar, 1), through which is thrust the shank of a knife, 0, securedinsaid collar by a set-screw. This knife revolves with shaft B in closeproximity to the plate 01, secured to the housing on the side next thefront of the machine. Through this plate is made a conical hole, 6, inline with the knife. This arrangement is for butting or squaring off theends of the round twigs previous to splitting. They are thrust into thehole 0 so as to just project through, and the knife revolvingagainstthem cuts them off square and even.

Shaft B is journaled in vertically-moving or adjustable pillow-blocksand caps, the latter being connected with spiral springs f,whichforce'theln down, and thus oppose the upward pressure of the withes whenfed through the rolls.

On shafts B B are fixed feed-rollers D D, each' having a circumferentialgroove, g, near one end in the same plane. Near the opposite end ofroller D is a circumferentialconcave groove, g, in which the half-roundside of the withes is placed when they are to be used as hoops for smallkegs, as will be hereinafter referred to.

In the housings, just below the topof feedroller D, is fixed ahorizontal table, E, with slots h h, through which gear-wheel aandfeedroller D project or are inclosed.

On the rear side of table E, to one side, is fixed an upright plate, F,in the face whereof .is a vertical dovetailed slot, t, made in its facewhich is parallel with the end of roller D.

In the dovetailed slot i is fitted so as to move freely up and down aplate, 1', to the upper end whereof is fulcrumed a lever, j, one endformed into a hook, j, partially encircling shaft B, while the oppositeend is attached to a pivot, j, moving in a slot, k,in standard k, risingfrom the base of plate F.

On the lower end of plate t" is fixed,at right angles thereto, thesplitting-knife Z. This knife consists of one, three, or four blades,the cutting-edges being on the front 'ends,.which project between thefeed-rolls. If one blade is' used, it is connected with plate 6 on oneedge, and divides the twigs in two parts through one diameter; if threeblades, it divides them into three parts, and if four blades, into fourparts, the number of blades used depending on the size of the twigs andthe desired fineness of the withes. \Vhen the withes are being splitthey are guided along the sides of the blades at 1 2 3 4. Fig. 6.

To get the requisite strength when four blades are used, as in thedrawings, the edge of the upper blade is connected with the face ofplate 1: by a right-angular web, k. This gives strength to the knife.

The blades of the knife project between the feed-rolls, (where fourblades are used,the vertical blades being entered in the grooves g.) Theknife must project well in between the rolls, so that as the twigs arefed they will be held firmly and steadily against the knife, so thatthere will be no opportunity for them to bend.

As it is essential that the twigs should be split through the center,the knife is vertically adjustable through plate 1" and lever j, theadjustment of the lever with relation to the vertically-movin g shaft Band .plate i being such that when a twig is fed between the rolls, androll D is elevated to accommodate it, the lever, bearing upon the shaftof roll D, is lifted also, and this lifts the splitting-knife, but onlyone-half the distance that the feed-roll is lifted.

By this arrangement it will be readily understood. that the knife isadjusted by the movement of the lever and roller I) so as to center anytwig fed against it, thus splitting them evenly at all times.

Opposite the splitting-knife, but on the same side of the table, is aplaning-knife, H, attached to plate I, which is pivoted at its rearedgebetween standards l l, rising from the table. The cutting-edge m of thisknife projects around between the feed-rollers D D. The knife-edge isvertically adjustable by means of the set-screws m m, which pass throughplate I" and bear upon the table. The knife is designed to plane off andsmooth the rough side of the withes, and by its vertical adjustment itcan be adapted to the different thickness of the withes.

On the opposite side or front of the table is a metal plate, I,supported at its edges on strips n n and projecting well between therolls. On one side of this plate are lateral guides 0 o, the outer endsconnected with the plate by screws 1) while their opposite ends aretapered down, so as to project well up under rolls D I). The free endsof these guides are laterally adjustable to accommodate them todifferent-sized twigs, which they guide between the rolls into thegroove g, and thence to the splitting-knife.

On the opposite side of the plate I, in line with the planing-knife, aretwo more lateral guides, q q, which guide the split twigs to the roll,whence they are fed to the planing-knife.

Between these two guides a mortise, r, is made through the plate, upthrough which project two knives, s s, joined underneath the table tothe right-angular arms t t, lying against the under side of the plate,and secured at their end to the same by screw it. On the upper side ofthe plate is aspring-presser guide, 2;, just in front of the knives s s.The object of these knives is to gage the width of the withes whereperfect uniformity is required in the manufacture of the finer articles.

The withe is placed under the spring'presscr guide and forced againstthe edges of the knives, through the same to the'rollers, which catch itand draw it through, the knives turning off the sides and reducing allthe withes passed through it to one uniform width.

When the splitting is completed the split surface is rough and pithy.This has to be taken off before the withe can be used and a smooth flatsurface given to it. For this purpose the withe is fed, with itshalf-round side down and the rough side up, through guides q q, thenceto rolls D D, which carry it against the planing-knife H, and thisplanes it off smooth and reduces the withes to a uniform thickness.

When the withes are to be used for hoops for small kegs, it is essentialthat the planed surface should be perfectly flat. If they are runthrough between the plain surfaces of the feedrolls, they are slightlybent up in the middle, and the consequence is, they are not madeperfectly flat.

To obviate this defect a circumferential con cave groove is made infeed-roller D, and in this groove the half-round side is placed when thewithe is fed to the planing-knife. Abearing being thus furnished for it,it is perfectly flat when planed oif. This is not necessary when thewithes are to be used for baskets, boxes, &c.; and in the practicalmachine the planing-knife can be made sufficiently wide to enable thewithes intended for this purpose to be fed through the ungrooved part ofthe feed'rolls.

When the withes are to be used for very fine work, requiring them to beof uniform width, they are passed through knives s s, which trim off thesides, and thus make them uniform.

The vertical adjustment of the planing-knife permits differentthicknesses of withes to be passed through and planed, and it either reduces them to the same thickness or else enables those of varyingthickness to be produced.

In this way, itwill be seen, the withes for making willow-ware, hoops,800., can be out out very rapidly with perfect evenness, and withoutwaste of material. The trimmingknives can be adjusted so as to take offonly that part that is absolutely useless. Then,

too, a uniformity in the width and thickness of the withes is obtainedthat is not possible when they are produced by hand.

Having thus described my invention, Iclaim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. The fixed and spring-pressed feed-rolls D D, theformer provided with the circumferential groove 9, in combination With aplaning-knife, H, arrangedsubstantially as shown and described, for thepurpose specified.

2. The combination, with the spring-pressed shaft, of the slotted plateF, lever j, having hook j, pivot j, slotted standard k Is, and the plate2', carrying the splitter, as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination, with set-screws andtable E, of the pivoted plate Iand slotted knife H, thus made adjustable both vertically andhorizontally, as, and for the purpose specified. 4. The butting orsquaring knife 0, revolved by shaft B against the face of plate 01, incombination with plate d, provided with conical hole 6, substantially asdescribed.

5. The splitting-knife I, connected With plate 13, and adjustablevertically by means of lever j, and adjustable shaftB', in combinationwith grooved fixed feed-roll D, vertically-adjustable grooved feedrollD, and adjustable guides 0 0, substantially as described.

6. The knives s s, for gaging the width of the withes, in combinationwith spring-presser guide 11 and feed-rolls D D, substantially asdescribed.

7. Feeding-plate I, provided with adjustable guides 0 o, for feeding thetwigs to the splitting-knife, and guides q q, for feeding the splitWithes to the planing-knife, in combination with feed-rollers D D,splitting-knife Z, and planingknife H, substantially as described.

JOSEPH POPPING. Witnesses:

O. SEDGWIGK, WILTON O. DONN.

